Avatar: The Legend Of Aang
by BroadwayNerd
Summary: AU. Aang falls into the sea near the North Pole and entering the Avatar State, seals himself in an iceberg. 40 years later, he is awakened. Join him on his journey to master the four elements and restore balance to the world. Aang/OC.
1. Prologue

**Avatar: The Legend of Aang-Prologue**

AN: Readers be warned! This is going to be _very_ AU. There is no Katara, Sokka, or Toph, because they haven't been born yet. Yep, I've messed with the timeline. Aang comes out of the iceberg a little earlier, and a whole lot of stuff changes. But don't worry! You'll be seeing quite a few familiar faces. *wink*

Anyways, I don't own Avatar. If I did, the movie would have been a lot better.

Aang buried his face into the soft fur of his sky bison, Appa, as he thought about Monk Gyatso and the Southern Air Temple. He wanted to cry so badly, but he was (apparently) the Avatar, and Aang wasn't sure if the Avatar was allowed to cry. Besides, he was surrounded by a convoy of monks from the Northern Air Temple, and he didn't want them to see.

"...Avatar? Are you feeling well? We can stop for the night soon if you are tired." An older monk to his right asked.

A plan began to form in Aang's mind. "Umm, yeah, I am getting tired, actually." He said, sitting up to look at the monk.

The older man nodded. "Then we will stop and rest."

Aang smiled grimly. Step One was complete, but Step Two would be far more difficult...

On the edge of the Foggy Swamp, the Air Nomads sat nervously around their campfire.

"Keep the fire burning low," A younger monk said. "I've heard that there are people living here, and they don't appreciate visitors. We don't want to attract their attention."

This was exactly the opportunity Aang was looking for.

"Maybe we should spread out a little." He suggested casually.

The old monk who he had spoken to earlier frowned. "What do you mean, Avatar?"

"Well, if we all stay in one place, we'll be more noticeable. But if we separate into smaller groups, say, two people? The swamp people will be less likely to notice us."

The nomads all slowly nodded their assent, and began to divide into groups. Aang was paired with the young monk who had spoken earlier.

"I mean no disrespect, Avatar, but I'm still a little nervous..." The young man said, looking around defensively.

Aang smiled. "Hey, it's okay. We can take turns keeping watch if you like. I'll start so you can get some sleep."

"Really? Thank you, Avatar!" The monk exclaimed happily.

He and his sky bison fell asleep quickly, and Aang was able to slip away into the night sky on Appa.

Aang quickly regretted leaving without a map. His initial plan was to fly to Kyoshi Island and hide there, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they were heading in the wrong direction. Then again, the map would have been ruined by the rain that was now pelting them. He was beginning to think that perhaps this was a sign from the spirits, and Aang was contemplating heading back when he realized that he and Appa were now caught in a storm.

Now Aang knew that this was definitely a sign. He had made a bad decision trying to leave and now he was being punished by the spirits. But he would set it right. He was desperately attempting to turn Appa around and head out of the storm when he saw the huge wave heading towards them.

Aang and Appa were pushed under the billowing waves, the cold rushing water tossing and turning them every which way. They sank further and further, and Aang couldn't hold his breath any longer. The last thing he saw before he passed out was a bright blue glow...

AN: And thus begins our tale... Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Flames will be used to help Aang with his Firebending.


	2. Chapter 1

**Avatar: The Legend of Aang-Chapter 1-The Boy In The Iceberg**

**AN: I don't own any of this stuff... yet...**

_40 years later..._

A 16-year-old boy adjusted his light blue tunic and stared nervously into the mirror in front of him. He cleared his throat.

"Ahem... Umm... Good morning, Kanna. I suppose your family has told you about... Umm... Our engagement? So... umm, in light of that, I made you an engagement necklace...?"

Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe frowned and shook his head. "No, no, no, no! Aargh! How do I do this?" Taking a deep breath, he stared determinedly into the mirror.

"Good morning, Kanna. How are you? ...I'm well, thank you. ...You know, Kanna, we've both turned 16 recently, and I'm sure you know about our families making, ummm... arrangements for us... So I made you this engagement necklace!" He finished quickly, smiling widely.

"Pakku! Hurry up! You don't have all day!" His father boomed from the next room.

Pakku shrugged. "I guess that's good enough..." He pulled on his coat, boots, and gloves, and ran out of the house in search of his future wife.

Kanna was at least three miles away from the village when she heard the sound of boots behind her.

"Kanna!" Oh, great. It was Pakku. She quickened her step and pretended not to have heard him.

"Kanna! Wait! Wh... where are you go... going?" He was getting tired. Good. Hopefully he'd turn back soon.

"Kanna? It's me, Pakku! Wa...wait! Ka...kanna!" He sounded so pathetic that Kanna almost pitied him. Almost.

But she kept walking. Nothing was going to stop her today, especially not _him_. And with luck, he'd stop following her soon and she could leave for the South Pole in peace.

"Kanna... please... wait... I have... something... for you..." Pakku wheezed, still sprinting after his soon-to-be fiance.

She was getting increasingly frustrated with him. If he didn't give up soon, she'd have to take matters into her own hands.

"Go _away_... _Please_ go away..." She muttered through gritted teeth.

"Kaaaaannnaaaa!"

Scowling, she whirled around to face her pursuer. "Will you _leave me alone_ for once!" Turning her back on the boy, she took off running.

Pakku sped up. Kanna was _not_ going to get away from him today.

To Kanna, it seemed like she had been running forever, and she wasn't getting anywhere. The landscape had barely seemed to change. And to make matters worse, Pakku was still following her.

To Pakku, it seemed like he had been running forever, and Kanna was still as far away as before. On a normal day, he might have given up. But today, he had an engagement necklace in his coat pocket, and by the spirits, he was going to give it to Kanna today. Vaguely, he wondered where exactly she was going, and why...

And then he crashed into her.

The two Water Tribe teens skidded across the ice and toppled down in a heap.

"Ugh! Pakku, would you watch where you're going?" Kanna snapped as she struggled to her feet.

"I _was_ watching! But then _you_ decided to stop all of a sudden!" Pakku whined, brushing himself off.

"You'd stop, too, if you saw a giant iceberg in your way." Kanna replied, pointing to said chunk of ice.

Pakku gaped at the thing. It was without a doubt the strangest iceberg he had ever seen. It was smooth and rounded, and there seemed to be something in the center.

Or some_one_.

Kanna's jaw dropped. "Spirits! There's a _boy_ in there! Pakku, we have to get him out!"

A lightbulb went off in Pakku's head. (Or it would have, if the Northern Water Tribe had knowledge of things like lightbulbs.) He sensed an opportunity to impress Kanna and get back on her good side, and perhaps an opening to present the necklace...

"Alright, I'll try... Since _you_ asked me, Kanna." He said, flashing the girl his most dazzling smile. As he turned his attention to the iceberg, Kanna rolled her eyes.

Pakku let out a battle cry. A small crack appeared in the iceberg. Kanna raised an eyebrow.

"And here I thought you were a powerful waterbender."

Pakku frowned. "I am! That was just my first wave. Stand back, I'm about to break this thing open."

Two more attacks later, the iceberg finally started to split open.

"Um, Kanna? I think maybe we should get a little further back..." Pakku said quietly.

Kanna took off running. Pakku once again found himself literally chasing after his love.

Once at a safe distance, the two gaped back at the remains of the iceberg. There was a large crater in the center of the debris, and there appeared to be a large furry creature in said crater. The boy was nowhere to be seen, but Pakku assumed that he was to be found in the crater as well

"Come on!" And Kanna took off running again. Sighing, Pakku followed at a slightly slower pace.

Sure enough, there was a boy lying unconscious in the ice crater. He was wearing strange clothes, Pakku noted, and had odd tattoos.

The boy groaned, and his eyelids fluttered. Kanna gasped and knelt beside him.

"Oh, I hope he's okay... Wake up, wake up..." Kanna said, tenderly putting a gloved hand on the boy's tattooed brow.

Pakku briefly wondered why Kanna had never given him this much attention.

The boy's eyes blinked open slowly, resting on Kanna's worried face. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Where...am...I?"

Pakku knelt down beside Kanna. "You're in the North Pole. I'm Pakku. This is Kanna. What's your name?" He asked with a comforting smile.

The boy sat up to face the two Water Tribe teens. "I'm Aang. This is Appa!" He said, indicating the large mound of fur behind him. "He's my flying bison. Could you give us directions to Kyoshi Island, please?"

Kanna giggled. "A flying bison? And I suppose _you_ fly, too."

Aang smiled back at her, seemingly unaware of Kanna's sarcasm. "Actually, I do!" He scrambled to his feet and hurried over to Appa, with Pakku and Kanna following suit.

He retrieved a strange-looking staff from Appa's saddle, which unfurled into a glider. Grinning at his new friends, he took off running. With one leap, he was airborne. Kanna quickly took off after him, with Pakku again following suit.

"I've been doing _waaaay_ too much running today..." Pakku grumbled as he raced after his intended and the strange newcomer.

AN: Reviews are love. Flames will be used to help defrost Appa.


	3. Chapter 2

**Avatar: The Legend of Aang-Chapter 2-The Crown Prince**

AN: Well, since we've almost got our gAang together, I thought I'd use this next chapter to quickly introduce you to another important player in this little game. We'll be following his journey almost as closely as that of the Avatar. Of course, there are still a few more major characters to be encountered...

I do not own ATLA.

Fire Lord Azulon was having a good day. He had just received a report from a battalion of his army currently stationed in the Earth Kingdom, detailing their glorious victory over yet another Earth Kingdom town. And of course, there was another offer of marriage for his firstborn son, Crown Prince Iroh.

He was daydreaming of his potential grandchildren when a guard tentatively approached the throne.

"I-I'm so s-s-sorry to have to t-tell you this, my lord..." The man was shaking with fear, which meant that whatever was said next would be _very_ bad news. And it was a well known fact that Azulon did not react well to bad news.

"Th-the Avatar has b-been found, my lord." He said, whimpering.

The Fire Lord raised both eyebrows. "Shouldn't that be good news?"

The guard grimaced. Oh, how he wished someone else were in this position...

"Well... Y-you see, my lord, he hasn't exactly been c-c-captured yet..."

"So capture him!" Azulon couldn't believe the idiocy of his troops. Before that pesky Avatar was captured, he would have to have them all retrained or replaced. Or perhaps both...

The man before him whimpered again. "I wish we could, my lord!" He burst out, on the verge of tears. "But the Avatar is in the North Pole and we can't get past their defences!" And with that, the guard sank onto his knees and began to sob as he'd never sobbed before.

Azulon curled his upper lip in disgust. "You are truly pathetic, all of you! You are Fire Nation soldiers, for spirit's sakes!" He was standing now, and the flames surrounding him were flaring dangerously.

"Go send a message to all the ships under my command! Tell them that if they fail to capture the Avatar within three months, they shall find themselves stripped of their ranks in my navy and sent to the colonies as farmers!"

This was the worst threat a member of the army or navy could receive. To work as a farmer in a colony instead of being a soldier was to bring shame and dishonour upon your entire family, including future generations.

The soldier stood, bowed hastily and exited the throne room with more speed than an Earthbender confronted with the threat of a long bath.

Azulon pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned. "There's simply no way imbeciles like him could ever hope to capture the Avatar..." He muttered, thinking aloud. "Unless they have a truly brilliant commander... One that I know I can trust not to fail me... But there's no-one..."

"Are you sure about that, father?"

The Fire Lord looked up to see his eldest son standing in the doorway.

"Iroh, you little spitfire, how long have you been listening?"

"Long enough to know that the situation requires my assistance." He said, approaching the throne hastily.

"You said it yourself, they need a reliable and skilled commander. I can be that commander, father!" He exclaimed confidently, kneeling at his father's throne.

Azulon smiled indulgently. "My boy, remember, you are only a captain. You have not yet attained a high enough rank to justify sending you to lead these men... I don't want to be seen to play favorites, particularly with my own son!"

Iroh's face fell.

"Of course, that does not mean I cannot send you along... And if you do well, I believe you would be in line for a promotion."

His son stood quickly, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you, father! I promise you, you won't regret it!"

The Fire Lord's smile widened with pride and mirth. "I don't doubt it, Iroh. Now off with you! Even a great warrior and firebender like you needs to practice, after all. Your ship departs in three days. Make me proud, my son."

The Crown Prince nodded eagerly, bowed, and dashed out of the chamber. In just a few days, he would be off to hunt the Avatar!

AN: Yeesh, sorry this chapter took so long! School's been kind of hectic, especially coupled with my job. I apologize in advance for any more long waits. Rest assured, I have pretty much all of the story planned out. I hope neither Iroh or Azulon sounds OOC... Then again, ATLA doesn't give us much to go on regarding Azulon's or young(er) Iroh's personalities, so there's really no way to tell if they're OOC or not!


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